Hairpiece arrangement

ABSTRACT

This hairpiece is based on soft, elastic straps, which should stretch and connects together in a framework, in a ladderlike way, in which wefts of hair are attached. This array is surrounded by and connected to a soft, elastic strap in the form of a peripheral loop that allows the hairpiece to be easily put on and can be comfortably worn allowing air to get to the head without the feeling of a head covering wig cap. This framework allows the wearer&#39;s natural hair to be brought easily through the open areas between the framework and mingle with hair on the hairpiece. The hair on the hairpiece could be synthetic hair or human hair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to hairpieces for use by people who wishto have hair that gives the appearance of being thicker or longer thantheir natural hair. In particular, it relates to a hairpiece based onsoft, elastic straps easily connected together in a framework thatincludes a ladderlike array to which wefts of hair are attached. Thisarray is surrounded by and connected to a soft, elastic strap in theform of a peripheral loop that allows the hairpiece to be easily put onand yet held comfortably and securely in place on the wearer's head toachieve a new and desired appearance, or style, or even a temporarycoiffure that can be quickly changed. The framework defines a structureto which an ample amount of hair is attached to provide the desiredadditional covering while still allowing the wearer's natural hair to bebrought easily through the open areas between the framework members andto be mingled with hair on the hairpiece in order to achieve anattractive arrangement. The resulting hairpiece is easy to manufacturein a variety of sizes so that they are easy for a wearer to put on andcomfortable to wear, including during warm weather when standardhairpieces based on solid, or almost solid, caps can be uncomfortablyhot.

[0003] 2. The Prior Art

[0004] The wigs described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,424,175; 3,470,889;3,654,938; 3,835,867; 3,868,959; 4,745,933; and 5,687,750 are based on afull cap that covers the wearer's whole head.

[0005] U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,645,279 and 3,734,105 show a framework based oninelastic members.

[0006] U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,651,820 and 3,871,389 show means for attaching atoupee to a wearer.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 3,651,821 shows only a partial hairpiece which,among other limitations, lacks a peripheral strap extending all the wayaround the wearer's head.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,868 shows a hairpiece consisting of aninelastic net to which strands of hair are directly attached by a liquidresin.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,888 describes a wig based on an inelasticnylon net and having snap fasteners to adjust the wig only to certainspecific sizes.

[0010] U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,386,619 and 5,687,750 show inelastic frameworksof wire or wire-like threads.

[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,029 simply shows a closed, inelastic loop asa base to which hair is attached. There are no longitudinal ortransverse straps.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0012] It is an object of this invention to provide a hairpiece having asoft framework of elastic straps connected together to form a ladderlikearray surrounded by and attached to an elastic peripheral loop to fitsecurely but comfortably on a wearer so that wefts of additional hairstrategically attached to the framework can supplement the wearer'snatural hair and allow the wearer to achieve a desirable style orcoiffure. The number of straps in the hairpiece can be selectedaccording to the amount of hair needed to supplement the wearer'snatural hair.

[0013] The term “elastic” as used in this description means that thematerial will stretch to at least 1.5 times its relaxed length withoutbreaking. However, the elastic straps used in the framework of thishairpiece are not stretched to that extent but only to the extentnecessary to hold the hairpiece securely yet comfortably in place.

[0014] After those familiar with the construction and use of hairpieceshave studied the following description, further objects may becomeapparent to them.

[0015] In accordance with this invention, the hairpiece structureincludes a closed elastic loop as a peripheral member that has aperipheral length long enough, when stretched, to fit comfortably aroundthe wearer's head, approximately in the region of the normal hairlineand sufficiently snugly to hold the hairpiece in place.

[0016] The structure also includes a ladderlike array of elastic strapsover the crown of the head and a central, longitudinal, elastic strapthat extends generally along the fore-and-aft central plane of thewearer's head and is attached to rungs, or transverse straps, of thearray. The central strap is attached to the peripheral member at thecenter of the forehead and at the nape of the neck and is long enough sothat, when stretched, it extends comfortably over the wearer's head andover any natural hair along the central plane. The ladderlike arrayincludes longitudinal side straps displaced on each side of the centralstrap, and a plurality of transverse straps attached to the side strapsand to the central strap. The corners of the ladderlike array areattached to the peripheral member at or near the outer corners of theforehead and at locations spaced apart toward the rear of the head.

[0017] The number of transverse straps depends on the amount of hairneeded to supplement the wearer's own hair; a wearer with thinnernatural hair would require more straps than a person with thicker hair.However, in any case, using straps that are interconnected only at alimited number of intersections, as in this invention, makes thehairpiece easier to assemble than existing hairpieces and morecomfortable to wear than hairpieces in which the base is a full cap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018]FIG. 1 is a three-quarter front view of a woman's head wearing oneembodiment of a hairpiece according to this invention.

[0019]FIG. 2 is a plan view of the framework of the hairpiece of FIG. 1with wefts of hair attached to it.

[0020]FIG. 3 shows a three-quarter rear view of the hairpiece in FIGS. 1and 2 on a woman's head with part of the woman's natural hair broughtthrough open areas in the framework of the hairpiece.

[0021]FIG. 4 is a side view of the woman in FIG. 3 at a later stage ofdonning the hairpiece and with more of her natural hair drawn, orteased, through openings in the framework.

[0022]FIG. 5 is a side view of the woman in FIG. 4 with the hairpiecefully in place and her natural hair and the additional hair of thehairpiece brushed neatly into place.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0023]FIG. 1 shows a person 11, who will be referred to in the followingdescription as the wearer, wearing a hairpiece constructed according tothis invention to provide additional hair 12 to supplement the wearer'snatural hair 13. Both of these types of hair are indicated in thisfigure as being located in the same place because the additional hair isso easily and well blended with the natural hair by the wearer 11 indonning the hairpiece that the two types of hair 12 and 13 cannot bevisually distinguished from each other. Instead, they give theappearance of simply being entirely natural hair 13 that covers thewearer's head 14 down to a region below the natural hairline and, inthis figure, completely hides the hairpiece. The hair 12, which isreferred to as additional to distinguish it from the wearer's ownnatural hair, may either be artificial hair or natural hair purchasedfrom suppliers who obtain such hair from persons who sell their own hairas a source of income. While all of the hair 12 and 13 in this figure iscombed straight, both the additional hair 12 and the natural hair 13 canbe curled or made wavy or arranged in any other coiffure.

[0024] In FIG. 2, the hairpiece, identified by reference numeral 15,comprises an open framework 16 comprising a peripheral elastic strap 17and a ladderlike network, or array, 18 of elastic straps joined togetherwhere they cross each other. An elastic material that I have foundparticularly suitable for the elastic straps is Stretchtite® brandbraided elastic ⅛″ wide, although this is only one example of asatisfactory material, and the invention is not limited to it. The strap17 forms a complete loop around the wearer's head to hold the hairpiecein place. The hairpiece 15 is shown in this figure in the first stage ofbeing donned by the wearer 11 and has only been placed atop the wearer'shead 14 without having any of the wearer's natural hair 13 broughtthrough openings in the framework.

[0025] The ladderlike array 18 includes elastic side straps 19 and 20that extend in the fore-and-aft direction relative to the wearer's headand transverse straps 21-25 that extend more or less like the rungs of aladder across the wearer's head 14 from one side strap to the other. Theframework 16 also includes connecting straps 26-29 that join the cornersof the ladderlike array 18 to the peripheral loop 17. These connectingstraps and can be formed from either the side straps 19 and 20 or thetransverse straps 21-25 of the array, or they can be short, separatestraps.

[0026] The side and transverse straps, as well as the connecting strapsprovide supports to which wefts 30 of additional hair 12 can beattached. Hair wefts are standard items of commerce and consist ofmultiple strands of hair tied together in a way that forms a backbonewith the individual hair strands extending from it, so that a weft 30somewhat resembles a comb. The strands of additional hair 12 extendingfrom the backbones of the wefts 30 appear in FIG. 2 to be very short,but that is only to allow the straps 19-29 to be visible. In actualpractice, the strands would normally be long enough to overlap and hideadjacent straps, although the straps can also be hidden from view bystrands of the wearer's natural hair 13, if the latter strands are longenough.

[0027] The backbone of each weft 30 is parallel to and, in mostlocations, right against the strap to which it is attached, and eachweft is joined to the respective strap by a length of thread 31 wrapped,or looped, around that backbone and the respective elastic strap. Thebackbones are flexible but not very elastic, and they constrain theelasticity of the straps to which they are attached, the degree of suchconstraints' being determined by the closeness of the loops of thread toone another. The open areas between the straps allow the wearer'snatural hair to be drawn, or teased, therethrough and mingled with theadditional hair.

[0028] It will be noticed that, in this embodiment of the invention,there is no thread securing the backbone of a weft to the portion 19 aof the side strap 19 between the transverse straps 23 and 24 nor to theportion 19 b between transverse straps 24 and 25. Correspondingly, thereis no thread securing the backbone of a weft to the portion 20 a of theside strap 20 between the transverse straps 23 and 24 nor to the portion20 b between the transverse straps 24 and 25. This allows those portionsof the elastic side straps 19 and 20 between the transverse straps 23and 25 to stretch, if necessary, to fit the wearer's head 14. Otherparts of the wefts can be left free of tight attachment to any of theelastic straps to allow the hairpiece 15 to fit securely but comfortablyon the wearer's head.

[0029] The soft, elastic, peripheral loop 17 is made long enough to fitaround the wearer's head 14 at approximately the location of thewearer's natural hairline, which typically extends across the top of theforehead and along the sides of the head above the ears 32 and 33 andaround the back of the head 14 under the occipital bone. The loop 17would not lie in a flat plane if it precisely followed the wearer'snatural hairline. However, since the combined hair, including both thewearer's natural hair 13 and the additional hair 12, covers thehairline, the loop 17 can lie more or less in a flat plane and still beconsidered as following the wearer's natural hairline fairly closely.

[0030] The elastic loop should be of the proper length to fit snugly butcomfortably around a wearer's head 14. For example, in the case of awearer whose natural hairline would have a circumferential length ofabout 21″, the relaxed length of the elastic loop 17 should be about18″, i.e., about 80% to 90% of the distance around the wearer's head 14at the hairline. Or, to put it another way, the elastic strap that formsthe loop, as well as the other elastic straps in the hairpiece can becomfortably stretched to about 110%-120% of their relaxed lengths whenin use. It should be kept in mind that the extent to which some of theindividual straps in the framework may be stretched may be less than110% because of the inelasticity of the wefts 30 attached to them.

[0031] The maximum, stretched length of the loop 17 is, of course,greater than its normal stretched length in use and is, typically, onthe order of 1.5 to 2 times the relaxed length. This means that, for aloop having a relaxed length of 18″, its length in use would typicallybe about 21″, and its maximum stretched length would typically be about27″ to 36″. As a result, when the loop 17 is stretched only to 21″, thewearer 11 will not feel that it is uncomfortably tight.

[0032] It is to be understood that all of these dimensions areillustrative approximations and are not absolute limitations of theinvention. The distance around the head of some wearers is not alwaysthe 21″ used in the foregoing example but would be greater than 21″ inthe case of some wearers and less than 21″ for others. In addition,individual wearers may prefer tighter or looser frameworks, and thearrangement of components in this invention allows such dimensionalrequirements and preferences to be easily accommodated.

[0033] The hairpiece 15 includes a central elastic strap 34 that extendsacross the top of the wearer's head 14, approximately along the centralvertical fore-and-aft plane. One end of the central strap is attached tothe front midpoint 35 of the loop at the center of the wearer'sforehead, and the other end to the rear midpoint 36 of the loop 17 at orjust above the nape of the neck. The length of this central strap 34when the hairpiece is being worn is sufficient to fit comfortably whenstretched to about 110%-120% of its relaxed length across the wearer'shead.

[0034] The central region of each of the transverse straps 21-25 in thearray 18 is secured to the central strap 34 to help keep the centralpart of each of these transverse straps spaced apart by a distancebetween about three-quarters of an inch to about an inch and a quarterto allow any of the wearer's natural hair 13 to be drawn out easilybetween those straps. The spacing between transverse straps in theladderlike array 18 depends on how many straps there are, which, inturn, depends on how much additional hair 12 needs to be incorporated inthe hairpiece 15 to give the desired appearance when blended with thewearer's natural hair. The two front connecting means 26 and 27 thatconnect the two front corners of the array 18 to the front part of theloop 17 near the upper corners of the forehead are equally spaced fromthe front midpoint 35 by a distance between about 1″ to 2″, which istypically about the distance between the central plane of the wearer'shead 14 and the location where the hair 12 and 13 would be parted, ifthe wearer 11 chose to do so.

[0035] The transverse strap 25 is the rearmost strap in the ladderlikearray 18, but in order to make it possible to attach sufficient hair 12toward the rear of the hairpiece, another transverse strap 37 isincluded in this embodiment of the framework 16. This strap extendsacross the back part of the wearer's head 14 between the last transversestrap 25 in the array 18 and the rear part of the loop 17. If it isdesired to have still more hair in that region of the head, additionaltransverse straps may be added, stretching from one side of the rearpart of the loop 17 to the other.

[0036] One of the hair wefts 30 is shown attached to the part of theloop 17 that extends across the forehead of the wearer 11 between thejunctions of the loop 17 and the front connecting means 26 and 27, andanother weft is shown attached to the rear part of the loop 17 betweenthe junctions of the transverse strap 37 and the loop. No wefts areattached to the sides of the loop 17 between the junctions of the loopwith the connecting means 26 and 28 on one side and the connecting means27 and 29 on the other.

[0037] Like the sides of the loop 17, the central strap 34 also needs tobe elastic to conform to the wearer's head 14, and so no wefts areattached to that strap.

[0038] The additional hair 12 can be of any color. Typically, but notnecessarily, it matches the wearer's natural hair. While it is desirablethat the elastic straps and the thread that holds the wefts in place onthose straps be the same color, that is not always necessary since thestraps are usually covered by either the hair 12 attached to thehairpiece 15 or, in many cases, by the wearer's own hair 13. However, ifa short hairstyle is chosen, some of the straps forming the framework 16may not be as well hidden, and most wearers will consider it importantin such cases to have elastic straps that are the same color as the hair12 and 13.

[0039]FIG. 3 shows the hairpiece 15 in an intermediate stage of theprocess of being put in place on a wearer's head 14. In this figure, thewearer's natural hair 13 is covered by the hairpiece hair 12 except fora portion of the natural hair 13 that has been brought out through anopening between the transverse straps 25 and 37. The size of theopenings in the framework 16 make it easy to draw out portions of thewearer's natural hair as shown in this figure. FIG. 4 shows a furtherstage in donning the hairpiece. After some of the natural hair 13between the straps 25 and 37 has been drawn through the framework 16,the person doing the styling can move to the next region, such as thatbetween the transverse straps 25 and 24, and draw out the natural hairin that region and continue this process until all of the natural hairhas been brought out and mingled with the additional hair.

[0040]FIG. 5 shows the completed state of styling the hairpiece into thewearer's natural hair 13. In this figure, as in FIG. 1, the wearer'snatural hair cannot be distinguished from the additional hair 12 on thehairpiece 15.

[0041] It is not necessary that styling proceed from front to back; itmay be carried out in the reverse direction or the combined hair 12 and13 may be styled in a part, which means that the hair would be combed orbrushed from side to side. The longitudinal straps 19 and 20 areespecially suitable for that purpose. Or all of the woman's natural hair13 may be brought up through all of the areas bounded by the straps inthe hairpiece and mingled with additional hair 12 over the entire head14 before being styled overall. The fact that the open areas throughwhich the woman's natural hair is to be brought are relatively large andare bounded by elastic straps makes it easy to grasp the natural hair 13to draw it through openings between adjacent straps that make up theframework 16.

[0042] While the invention has been described in terms of a specificembodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited tothis embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hairpiece to be worn comfortably over the crownof a wearer's head and to extend down to the wearer's natural hairline,said hairpiece having a front and a rear and comprising: (a) a frameworkof soft, elastic straps comprising: (i) a peripheral loop strap having arelaxed circumferential length shorter than the circumference of thewearerts head at its natural hairline and a stretched length sufficientto be worn securely but comfortably when the peripheral loop is in placeapproximately along the natural hairline, (ii) a ladderlike set ofelastic straps comprising first and second longitudinal side strapsspaced apart on the wearer's head and extending generally fore-and aft,a plurality of transverse straps, each extending across from the firstside strap to the second side strap and securely joined to each of thefirst and second side straps at spaced locations therealong, andconnecting means connecting the ladderlike set of elastic straps to theperipheral loop strap; and (b) wefts of hair attached to selected partsof the framework, thereby constraining the elasticity of the selectedparts, other parts of the framework being free to stretch to apredetermined extent.
 2. The hairpiece of claim 1 in which theperipheral loop has an elasticity sufficient to allow a relaxed part ofthat strap to be stretched to at least 1.5 times its relaxed length. 3.The hairpiece of claim 1 in which the other parts of the elastic strapsare stretchable, in use, to about 110% to 120% of their relaxed length.4. The hairpiece of claim 1 comprising closely formed loops of threadattaching the wefts of hair to selected parts of the straps, whereby theelasticity of the selected parts is constrained.
 5. The hairpiece ofclaim 1 in which the connecting means comprise end portions of the sidestraps.
 6. The hairpiece of claim 1 in which the connecting meanscomprise end portions of the transverse strap closest to the front ofthe hairpiece.
 7. The hairpiece of claim 1 in which the connecting meanscomprise members separate from the longitudinal side straps and any ofthe transverse straps.
 8. A removable hairpiece to be worn by a personhaving a natural hairline of a certain peripheral length, said hairpiececomprising: (a) a soft framework comprising: (i) a plurality of strapsarranged in a ladderlike array, and (ii) an elastic peripheral loop tofit securely but comfortably on the person's head generally followingthe natural hairline; and (b) a plurality of wefts of additional hairstrategically attached to the framework to supplement the person'snatural hair.
 9. The removable hairpiece of claim 8 in which: (a) theladderlike array of straps comprises first and second side members; and(b) a plurality of strap transverse members, each connected to the sidemembers, whereby the array has four corners.
 10. A hairpiece to be worncomfortably over a wearer's head and any natural hair thereon, saidhairpiece comprising: (a) a closed, soft, elastic peripheral loop thathas front, side, and rear parts and a relaxed circumference too small tofit around the head approximately along a natural hairline, the loophaving sufficient elasticity to stretch to fit comfortably yet snuglyaround the wearer's head and around any natural hair thereon at thenatural hairline; (b) a central, longitudinal, elastic strap attached tothe peripheral loop at a central location on the front part of the loopand at a central location on the rear part thereof to fit over the headand any natural hair thereon; (c) a plurality of transverse strapscomprising a forwardmost strap and additional straps extendingtransversely across the wearer's head and connected to the centrallongitudinal strap and spaced apart to allow any natural hair to bedrawn out between them; (d) first means connecting each end of theforwardmost transverse strap to left and right points along the frontpart of the peripheral loop but displaced from the central frontlocation; (e) side longitudinal straps on each side of the centrallongitudinal strap and having respective front and rear ends; (f) secondmeans connecting the front ends of the side longitudinal straps to theleft and right points, respectively, along the peripheral loop; and (g)third means connecting the rear ends of the side longitudinal straps tospaced-apart locations toward the rear part of the peripheral loop. 11.The hairpiece of claim 10 in which the second means connecting the frontends of the side longitudinal straps to the left and right points,respectively, along the peripheral loop comprises end portions of thefirst transverse strap.
 12. The hairpiece of claim 10 in which the firstmeans connecting each end of the forwardmost transverse strap to leftand right points, respectively, along the front part of the peripheralloop comprises front ends of the side longitudinal straps.
 13. Thehairpiece of claim 10 comprising: (a) an additional transverse strap,one end of which is connected to the rear part of the elastic peripheralloop on one side of the central location on the rear part thereof andthe other end of which is connected to the rear part of the elasticperipheral loop on the other side of the central location on the rearpart thereof; and (b) a hair weft comprising a backbone attached to andextending along the additional transverse strap.